In a printing operation, a sheet of material such as newsprint, is feed from a roll mounted in a splicer, to a sequence of printing equipment, such as printing presses, a dryer, a chill roll, cutters, folders and delivery equipment. The output of the equipment is a plurality of signatures, each having a printed image. The individual signatures are assembled with other printed signatures to form a final product, such as a newspaper.
During the printing process, quality control measures are implemented to assure that certain parameters of the printed product, such as density, registration, ribbon position, fold and so on, are satisfactory and commercially acceptable. The determination of less than satisfactory parameters, and identification of the location of the less than satisfactory conditions have consistently presented technical challenges in respect of a precise and accurate sensing and tracking of the parameters. Accurate tracking of parameter quality, particularly with an ability to identify specific signature location, will provide an improved good count and waste count for the printing press output. An ability to accurately track specific signature locations would also facilitate insertion of unique and specific data on a preselected, specific signature, and provide improved overall control of the printing operation.